Word Origin & History
fluent1580s, from L. fluentem (nom. fluens), prp. of fluere "to flow," from PIE *bhleugw-, extended form of from PIE *bhleu- "to swell, well up, overflow" (cf. L. flumen "river;" Gk. phluein "to boil over, bubble up," phlein "to abound"), an extension of base *bhel- (2); see
bole. Used interchangeably with
fluid in Elizabethan times. Related: Fluently